Tuesday, December 28, 2010

A Recap: Finals, A Wedding, Christmas, and Movie Reviews

I'm sorry to say my posting has been few and far between lately, but I swear I have some good excuses. I promise I'll change, and we'll be together.

Since late November I have been busy pretty much all the time. I began and finished my first set of law school finals, which was truly a miserable experience. My largest complaint with law school finals is there is no one readily available to feel bad for you. Considering nearly everyone I know in Denver is a law student, you don't get an awful lot of sympathy from them when you complain about the misery of finals. The joy of complaining is to have other people feel sorry for you, but law students are already occupied feeling sorry for themselves. In the effort to find someone who will feel sorry for them, law students turn mostly to Facebook or seeking out conversations like this:

"Oh hello...I'm doing great, totally fine! Feeling wonderful! Just wonderful! Really nice day. Couldn't feel better, really...Well, I am very tired...Oh, it's nothing. Nothing at all...Well, you know, just a lot of work lately... Oh, no big deal. It's just school...I'm in law school...I'm taking my law school finals right now...yes, I'm very tired...It's just horrible, I feel completely horrible...my life has never been worse actually...Yes, terrible...I am a sad, sad human being...Anyway, I would like a #6 with a root beer."

It's exhausting just thinking of the energy I'm going to expend next semester trying to make people feel sorry for me.

Craig's Finals Low Point: One night I nearly lost my mind. In response I went to the grocery store and bought myself 5-quarts of ice cream to help drown my tears. This was a good reminder that even though I'm a 24 year-old man, I grapple with extreme pressure like a 40 year-old woman facing a crisis.

Craig's Finals High Point: When I finished my last final, Civil Procedure, I went to a party for a few hours, went home, and fell asleep on my couch while eating a bowl of ice cream. This was a good reminder that even though I'm a 24 year-old man, I celebrate like a 40 year-old woman facing a crisis.

Anyway, I did survive finals, and soon afterward I was heading home to Salt Lake City. Two days after I arrived I was in a minivan with four other guys on our way to Huntington Beach, California to attend the wedding of my friend, Scott. Scott is an excellent guy, and he doesn't read my blog, so I will recap his wedding and the rest of the trip in a few points:

1. Scott and I met in 9th grade when we would spend every day immediately after lunch flooding the bathroom toilets with toilet paper. Petty vandalism lays a solid foundation for lifelong, rewarding friendships. I can't express how great a friend Scott is and has been without undermining my street cred(entials), so I won't go into detail, except to say he is a truly great person and friend. Congratulations to Scott and Jenesee.2. The wedding dinner was held at the restaurant at the end of the Huntington Beach pier, called Ruby's. It's the building in the picture of the beach right there. What an incredible idea.3. We spent a fair amount of time playing Super Smash Brothers on our trip, including in our parked and running minivan in a parking garage somewhere in Hollywood. Beautiful California.4. It rained every day until the last day, just in time for the wedding and reception. This paved way for probably the best wedding reception I have ever been to. I ate tons of cheesecake. The temporary shame I felt while sliding 3 large pieces of expensive cheesecake onto my dessert saucer was immediately deflected by the eternal reward of eating three large pieces of expensive cheesecake. (The bride's father specifically told me I could eat all I wanted, and I believed him.)5. I got a great deal buying a $65 shirt for $20. The buttons on the way down spelled "BURTON." Unfortunately, the "R" fell off and has gone missing. Now it spells "BUTON," which means "Button" in spanish. Now spanish-speaking people will be able to clearly identify that my shirt has buttons.6. My aunt and uncle let us stay at their place, which was very nice of them. I award upon them an honorable mention.

Upon the most uncomfortable trip home I've ever experienced, I was home for Christmas. I love Christmas. I had a wonderful time. Now that I'm home until early January my main focus will naturally be French kissing.

And that is why I have been busy. All I ask is that you forgive me and things go back to the way they were.

Here is a list of the movies I've seen recently and how I felt about them:

A. Tron - Good/Enjoyable. Not a critical gem, but I very much enjoyed it.B. True Grit - Excellent. Incredible performances by all three leading men/lady.C. The Fighter - Somewhere between Good and Excellent. This movie includes a character who I desperately wanted to light on fire. I wish she had spent the entire movie on fire. Woman on fire. Literally on fire.D. Tangled - I really liked this show. Rapunzel may be my new favorite Disney princess.E. Unstoppable - Somewhere between fine and good. I enjoyed it. This movie demonstrates how even something as fun as a totally unstoppable train can become a nuclear bomb so long as everything that could possibly ever go wrong does go wrong. Here is a synopsis:

5 comments:

I only recall being at one of those movies with you...disappointed Craig! I agree with you on True Grit though. I think I'm in love with Jeff Bridges now. Also, I really want to see more of you this week before you go back to law school and lose your mind. I want to remember you how you are now, before you turn into crazy craig aka boogaloo shrimp (cause that's what they'll call you when you lose it).

boogaloo shrimp? really? Please come to the ward or whatever is going on between now and then. I've conjured up this delusion that you and I are actually friends because im a voyeur in your life... and i want to see you!

I'm seeing True Grit tonight... and am geeking out about it hard core. I've worn an eye patch and Texas Ranger hat to work for the occasion. Just so NO ONE mistakes that I'm going to see any other movie tonight. Eye patch eh? She must be seeing True Grit. Happy French Kissing!

Craig, as the wife to a husband in law school, I have a few things to say:I know how you feel, except for worse. Because the only thing worse than being a law student is being married to one during finals week. Which is actually two weeks, so it sucks twice as much.